Survey: Google’s Android OS captures more than half of US smartphone market

More than half of all smartphone owners in the US are now using a device powered by Google’s Android mobile operating system, according to new figures released by comScore on Tuesday.

The research firm polled over 30,000 mobile phone users over the three-month period ending February this year.

Of the 104 million people in the US who now own a smartphone, Android’s share of the market stands at 50.1 percent, up from 46.9 percent over the previous three-month period.Apple remain locked in second place, with 30.2 percent of those polled owning an iOS-powered iPhone, up 1.5 percent from the previous period.

Although still in third place, RIM saw its share of the smartphone platform market fall 3.2 percent to 13.4 percent. The Ontario-based company will be desperately hoping to turn things around with the release of its upcoming BlackBerry 10 handsets, due for release later this year.

Looking at the top mobile manufacturers, which includes feature phones as well as smartphones, Samsung was top with a 25.6 percent share of the market, precisely the same figure it had for the previous three-month period.LG were in second spot with 19.4 percent of the market, marking a 1.1 percent drop on the earlier period, while Apple moved ahead of Motorola for the first time, increasing its share by 2.3 percent to 13.5 percent. Its iPhone 4S device, released in October last year, has proved a hit with consumers and continues to sell well. Motorola slipped to fourth position, dropping 0.9 percent to 12.8 percent.

The research also took a look at how people interact with their handsets, with a shade under 75 percent saying they use it to send text messages. Nearly half — 49.5 percent — said they use downloaded apps, an increase of 4.6 percent over the previous three-month period. No doubt this figure will go on growing as smartphones continue to squeeze feature phones out of the market and developers continue to entice consumers with an increasingly broad range of apps.